I was totally wrong about the main character in 'The Dutch House'

Last month in our club, I kept saying Danny was just a selfish guy who couldn't move on from the house. I mean, I thought he was being a baby about it for like 500 pages. But then Sarah, who leads the group, pointed out all the times he was trying to protect his sister, Maeve, even when it hurt him. She read a part where he gives up a big chance for her, and I had totally missed that. It made me see the whole book differently, like it's more about family duty than just being stuck in the past. Has anyone else had a book club moment that flipped a character for you like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

faithmurray1mo ago

Yeah, it's more like 300 pages, not 500. But I get what you mean about missing a character's good side until someone points it out. Happened to me with a different book too.

zarakim1mo ago

Totally wrote Danny off as a whiner too. @faithmurray is right about the page count, but my bigger mistake was missing his loyalty. Seeing his choices as protection, not just pouting, flipped the whole book for me.

joseph_torres1mo ago

Honestly, that part about missing a character's good side hits home. I had the same thing with a book where I thought this mom was just nagging her kid the whole time. My friend made me see she was scared because her own brother had gotten really sick at that age. It wasn't nagging, it was pure fear. Totally changed how I read every scene with her after that.